Friday 10th October saw more than 150 event buyers gather at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly to discover and network with dozens of central London’s best event venues, brought together over breakfast by London venue marketing consortium The Westminster Collection (TWC).
It was TWC’s annual venue showcase, Destination Westminster, held once a year to create an opportunity for people who organise events to enjoy productive, face-to-face conversations with venue representatives from some of London’s finest historic institutes and societies, dedicated conference venues, river boat venues, luxury hotels, museums, tourist attractions, private members clubs and concert halls.
Guests in attendance came from a mixture of integrated marketing agencies, event agencies, charities, embassies, government organisations, law firms, accountancy firms, retailers and tour operators.
BAFTA 195 Piccadilly took the opportunity to showcase its bright and airy David Lean Room and Foyer Bar, as guests posed for twitter and Instagram photos alongside iconic BAFTA masks and enjoyed indulgent, sweet and savoury breakfast treats including cinnamon toast with roast banana on a chocolate milk shot, and spinach, potato and goats cheese tortilla with smashed avocado.
Guests then loaded up their pick ‘n’ mix bags with breakfast themed treats from the sweetie bar before seizing the chance to make like the stars by taking their seats in BAFTA’s illustrious Princess Anne Theatre. Here they watched short screenings of candid interviews with Hollywood film stars including the late Robin Williams and Tom Hanks, as well as British talents Idris Elba and Ricky Gervais.
Speaking of the event, Allyson Hargreaves, board director for The Westminster Collection says, “We always look forward to this event. It provides great sales leads for our venues and we hope serves to raise awareness of the excellent, free venue finding and event enquiry tools The Westminster Collection offers to event planners via our website. There are few events that offer such an intimate opportunity to network and have meaningful business conversations in a relaxed environment.”
Event planners and agents are encouraged to RSVP now to secure attendance at London’s finest event venue showcase, The Westminster Collection’s ‘Destination Westminster 2014′, this year being held at the iconic BAFTA 195 Piccadilly on Friday 10th October, 8:00 – 11:00am.
Famously the home of British moving image, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is looking forward to opening its doors to event planners from all across London and beyond for a productive morning of networking, event planning and conversation with more than 40 of the city’s most celebrated venues, available for corporate or private hire.
Exclusively promoting venues within central London’s City of Westminster – which encompasses Pimlico in the south, to Regent’s Park in the north and from the borders of Kensington in the west, to Covent Garden in the east – guests of this enjoyable breakfast networking event can look forward to discovering private members clubs, modern and traditional conference centres, historic institutes and societies, prestigious academies, concert halls, galleries and museums, tourist attractions, luxury hotels, river boats and churches.
Anna Glazebrook, board director for The Westminster Collection and marketing manager at One Great George Street, says, “Every year we look forward to the opportunity to present a friendly one-stop-shop environment where buyers and venues come together to share information and explore the possibilities and opportunities available for events held within our vast collection of venues. The face-to-face contact is really important to building working relationships and so many of our guests always comment on how they’ve discovered venues or features and services they didn’t even know were available.
“We welcomed the QEII Centre (currently undergoing a £12m refurbishment) and The Royal Air Force Club into our collection this year. I’d encourage anyone in the business of planning events to come along and network with the expert event teams from these and our other leading venues, win prizes, unlock special discounts and incentives and enjoy a delicious, free breakfast.
Celebrating all that’s iconic about this famed events venue, showcase guests can also seize the opportunity to make like the stars and take their seats in BAFTA’s illustrious Princess Anne Theatre, which seats 227, where they can watch screenings of candid interviews with legendary Hollywood film stars including the late Robin Williams and Tom Hanks, as well as homegrown talents Idris Elba, Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant amongst others.
RSVP now to secure your attendance at London’s finest event venue showcase, The Westminster Collection’s ‘Destination Westminster 2014’, this year being held at the iconic BAFTA 195 Piccadilly. Famously the home of British film, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is looking forward to opening its doors to event planners from all across London and beyond for a productive morning of networking, event planning and conversation with 43 of the city’s most celebrated venues, available for corporate or private hire.
Exclusively promoting venues within central London’s City of Westminster – which encompasses Pimlico in the south, to Regent’s Park in the north and from the borders of Kensington in the west, to Covent Garden in the east – guests of this enjoyable breakfast networking event can look forward to discovering luxury hotels, world-renowned conference centres, training facilities, historic institutes and societies, celebrated attractions, galleries, museums and private members clubs.
It’s free to attend. All you need to do is click here to register!
For updates follow @Venues_Wminster #DestinationWestminster
Event buyers wanting an easy route to finding exceptional, centrally located London venues can look forward to Friday 10th October, when we will lift the curtain on our annual venue showcase, Destination Westminster 2014, taking place at the celebrated home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, 8am – 11am. Event organisers can claim their tasty ticket to register by popping over to The Westminster Collection on stand G19 at The Meetings Show, 8th-10th July at Olympia, London, where all will be revealed.
The Destination Westminster 2014 breakfast showcase event at BAFTA, which is free to attend, is an opportunity for anyone in the business of booking corporate and private events, meetings and conferences to spend a morning with the sales and marketing teams at more than 45 of central London’s most iconic venues. We’re renowned for our eclectic portfolio of member venues, which encompass everything from historic institutes and societies, colleges, museums and private members clubs, to luxury hotels, concert halls, modern training venues, churches and Thames river boats.
All visitors to TWC stand G19 at The Meetings Show will also be in with a chance of winning one of a handful of luxury Westminster experiences, including an afternoon tea for four at The Rag – Army & Navy Club and a one-night stay for two, including breakfast and an exclusive dinner at Bistro, at St James’ Court, A Taj Hotel, London.
We still have a limited selection of diary appointments available for buyers wanting a more dedicated introduction to the Collection. Register now using invitation code EXIN14.
We’re delighted to announce that The Westminster Collection’s 2014 venue showcase will this year take place at the celebrated home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, in the David Lean Room which overlooks St James’s Church Garden. The date for your diary is Friday 10th October, 8:00am-11:00am.
The breakfast showcase event, which is free to attend, is an opportunity for anyone in the business of booking corporate and private events, meetings and conferences to spend a morning with the sales and marketing teams at more than 45 of central London’s most iconic venues. The Westminster Collection is renowned for its eclectic portfolio of member venues, which encompass everything from historic institutes and societies, colleges, museums and private members clubs, to luxury hotels, concert halls, modern training venues, churches and Thames river boats.
To register your attendance and for all updates about the showcase programme, special showcase incentives and competitions, please click the link below.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in his recent budget that the UK is gradually emerging from the recession, forecasting a 2.7% increase in growth for 2014. Although still a long way from full economic recovery, this positive indication is as much an encouragement for the London events market as it is for UK business as a whole.
As more and more cash flow frees up, companies are once again looking at their budgets and to meetings and events as good marketing and networking tools for their businesses.
As economic pace has started to gather momentum, so too it seems has a renewed willingness to invest more money in events through enhancements and add-ons, offering delegates a more rounded experience than ‘the basic package’, which became a trend through the lowest points of the recession, as companies looked to make savings.
This begs the question: Has there been an increase on event spend as the UK emerges from the recession?
We asked some of The Westminster Collection’s member venues for their views, focusing on activity in January – March 2014 compared with the same period last year. We also asked where they think event organisers are directing the extra spend:
Robin Parker, general manager at Church House Conference Centre, feels that there has been an upturn in spend on events:
“We can report a 20% increase in catering spend compared with the same period last year. Although the spend in the public sector remains flat, reflecting a large number of budget freezes across government departments, the private sector is definitely spending more on adding value to their events through post-event receptions or by upgrading their lunch from basic sandwiches to a hot fork buffet.”
Guy Booth, venue manager at etc. venues Victoria,agreed, highlighting the benefits of adding a networking reception to meetings and conferences:
“We can confirm an upturn in added-value events at etc. venues Victoria in comparison to this time last year. As the recession lifts, more and more organisers are increasing their average spend to add a networking reception to finish their event. It is a clear sign that companies are appreciating the important business development opportunities that these extra touches offer whilst adding a fuller experience for delegates. Two out of three of all large meetings and conferences at etc. venues Victoria now incorporate a reception at the end of the day, encouraging relaxation in the courtyard garden.”
Tom Walsh, director of sales MICE at St Ermin’s Hotel, was more cautious in his response but felt that organisers were more receptive to upscaling their events:
“We are finding that budgets for events have become less restrictive than in years gone by. Certainly blank cheques are not being issued but neither an increase in F&B spend, nor package enhancements are being shunned as we had previously seen.”
Has your venue seen an increase or decrease in spend on events in the first quarter of 2014? If you have a view on this issue we would love to hear from you. If so, please email your response to [email protected].
Today marks the release of the 2013 London Venues Business Report and overall, the conference and events industry is reporting positivity in the period following the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Produced annually by The Westminster Collection (TWC), Unique Venues of London (UVL) and The Conference Bench, the new report collates the results of a survey into the performance of 110 tourist attractions, prestigious venues and renowned hotels across the capital. This year, for the first time, the committee producing the report also welcomed the addition of the London City Selection, with a number of this venu consortium’s member submitting performance data.
Here are some of the key findings:
– Venue optimism is high, with 94% of venues surveyed reportedly feeling positive about the future of the events market through 2013 and into 2014. Short lead times, smaller events and irregular booking patterns remain a concern, however.
– There is a positive post-Olympics feel, with 94% of venues expressing optimism, although there is an increase in smaller or more intimate events booked.
– Short lead times for large, medium and small events remain a trend,with events valued at more than £10,000 tending to be booked 5.7 months in advance, on average and events valued at £5,000 or less, 2.8 months in advance.
– 63% of venues predict positive year-on-year revenue growth in 2013 versus 2012.
– Weddings are an area of growth, with 58% of venues predicting seeing an average 17% increase in bookings for this type of event through 2013. Private events such as birthdays and anniversary events are also predicted to show growth.
– The use of discounting as a sales tactic decreased in 2012, with just 18% of venues reporting to have won business by cutting room hire, catering or AV fees, compared with 35% having secured business as a result of discounting in 2011. Venues did indicate that 7.8% of their bookings could be attributed to offering flexibility in packages where minimum numbers normally apply.
– Of the 57% of venues offering day delegate rates (DDRs), 61% of those allowed customer demand to influence their DDRs, with rates modified in response to high and low periods of demand. Discounts on venues’ highest average DDRs in 2012 averaged 30%. 40% of responding venues do not flex their prices in periods of high or low demand.
– ‘Word of mouth’ was reported by 41% of venues to be their number one method for driving sales. Direct sales was rated second (21%) and online advertising was the third most successful sales method (17%).
– Of the 84 venues using social media to promote their event spaces, 99% now use Twitter – in 2012, just 70% of venues were using it in this way.
– 73% of the London venues surveyed plan to invest capital into their event spaces in 2013.Tourist venues are planning to make large investments in 2013, with 30% of the 78 tourist venues which plan to invest reporting budgeted spend in excess of £1 million.
– 89% of responding venues offer delegates free WiFi within their events spaces and 80 of the venues questioned offer free WiFi in their public areas. 45% of venues indicated that they intend to upgrade their broadband capacity within the next 18 months.
The 2013 London Venues Business Report is available for purchase, priced £95+VAT. Please contact [email protected] to order your copy.
Event planners learnt what events of the future will look like at Destination Westminster on Friday 13th September, with talk of 3D holograms, mood altering lighting, ‘unconference’ techniques and social media collaboration amongst tips shared and demonstrated during The Westminster Collection’s 10th anniversary venue showcase.
Held in the ornate surrounds of The Ballroom at central London venue 8 Northumberland Avenue, the breakfast showcase event, which was free to attend, was an opportunity for event buyers and planners to spend a morning with the sales and marketing teams at 50 of central London’s most iconic venues – all of which are available to hire for meetings, conferences, parties, dinners and events.
The Unleash Your Creativity forum saw speakers including Katie McPhee, senior community manager for Eventbrite, Sam Michel, founder of Chinwag and Jez Paxman, creative strategy director for Live Union, stretch delegates’ imaginations about what a conference could deliver if you’re brave enough to invite audience collaboration before or during an event to help shape content. Social media was cited as changing the whole nature of the buying process and Katie McPhee emphasised how important promotion is in making events successful – it takes four Facebook shares to sell one event ticket, she said.
Katy Hadcroft, general manager of RSA House, run by events caterer Harbour & Jones, also showed how food can become visual theatre and underpin interactive experiences for guests, if you apply a little imagination to presentation, serving techniques and taste.
8 Northumberland Avenue’s own catering team Alchemy demonstrated exactly how that is done with a brilliant breakfast menu that included mini Full English breakfasts served on slate squares, mini egg benedict, ‘posh porridge’ in mini bowls and three varieties of flavoured milk served from the crate in mini glass milk bottles, with straws.
TWC later took guests by surprise as Tracy Halliwell, London & Partners’ director of business tourism and major events, was ‘invited’ onto stage to deliver a special message of encouragement to buyers considering London as a business destination. Guests were none-the-wiser that she had magic powers as she spoke inspiringly about TWC’s role in delivering London’s future 2020 vision for business tourism, until she exploded into a bluster of feathers before re-emerging as a chiming, twirling 3D hologram of Big Ben. She had never really been on stage at all – it was all a holographic illusion created by Musion (and filmed in advance of the event).
Destination Westminster marked 8 Northumberland Avenue’s debut of this Musion technology and a dynamic presentation then followed incorporating true-to-life musical performances, animated presenting techniques and interactive graphics led by Musion director Ian O’Connell.
Robin Parker, TWC’s marketing director, said: “This year’s showcase delivered a thought provoking experience for both our event buying guests and member venues. It was great to see several new members exhibiting for the first time this year and many venues relished the opportunity to tell events organisers about the developments they have made to their meetings and events facilities in the last 12 months. The feedback from both members and guests has been very positive.
“The aim of the Showcase has always been to sell the destination first, highlighting Westminster as an area with the whole package. It’s not just for events, but for lifestyle, culture and entertainment and we hope that our Destination Westminster guests enjoyed the opportunity to meet and network with 50 of the borough’s finest.”
For news and updates from TWC, follow @Venues_Wminster on twitter and use #DestinationWestminster to join the showcase conversation.
Don’t miss incredible nuggets of creative wisdom from true experts in their fields at a special panel debate taking place at Destination Westminster, The Westminster Collection’s annual venue showcase and networking event.
On Friday 13th September, events professionals are invited to get together and enjoy a delicious, free breakfast prepared by our host venue 8 Northumberland Avenue, while chatting with the 50 wonderful venues we have within The Westminster Collection – all of whom are exhibiting within 8 Northumberland Avenue‘s stunning Ballroom.
At 9:00am, our panel of marketing, food, social media and live event gurus will kick off the Unleash Your Creativity forum. They aim to open your mind to what can be achieved when you inject imagination and resourcefulness into event planning and focus on creating new and memorable experiences.
Learn why you need to think ‘big picture’ and broaden expectations of what an event should do for brand awareness. Be inspired by the digital and social engagement techniques that can be built into an event or marketing campaign to give it legs, to really grip the target audience and to ensure there’s conversation across channels.
Hear how to bring innovation and the ‘wow’ factor to the canapé, lunch or dinner plate and nod to food fashions, while remaining firmly within budget. Discover more about the psychology behind live experiences and how you can maximise the value of your event by viewing your venue as part of a destination, not a standalone site. Take the opportunity to ask these experts questions about your own event plans in a dedicated Q&A session.
Chair of the panel Jonathan Byrne, who is chief operating office at No.4 Hamilton Place and board director at The Westminster Collection, said:
“Destination marketing is vital in order to grow business tourism and to reinforce the breadth of opportunities in London right now. Westminster is so well located, with a wealth of arts, culture and entertainment to absorb in and around the West End of London. This showcase and particularly the panel is about harnessing this energy, bringing together a cluster of seriously creative people and sharing techniques for engagement, event planning and delivery. Our challenge as a panel is to inspire you to be original.”
Destination Westminster takes place from 8:30 – 11:30am on Friday 13th September 2013, at TWC venue 8 Northumberland Avenue. Discover 50 incredible central London venues and network with each of their events teams during a special 10th anniversary showcase, complete with complimentary breakfast and refreshments.
To register for FREE, and for more information about the timings and full programme for the showcase and panel discussion, click here.
Tweet about this event using hashtag #DestinationWestminster #UnleashYourCreativity and our Twitter handle @Venues_Wminster.
Don’t miss incredible nuggets of creative wisdom from true experts in their fields at a special panel debate taking place at Destination Westminster, The Westminster Collection’s annual venue showcase and networking event.
At 9:00am, a specially selected panel of marketing, food, social media and live event gurus will kick off the Unleash Your Creativity forum in the Old Billiard Room. They aim to open your mind to what can be achieved when you inject imagination and resourcefulness into event planning and focus on creating new and memorable experiences.
Katie McPhee, Senior Community Manager, Eventbrite UK
Katie joined Eventbrite from the BBC in 2011 and was the company’s first employee in Europe. She runs the UK’s social media, co-ordinates all Eventbrite events, sources partnerships and manages a growing community of event organisers in the UK. Katie also works closely with event organisers advising on social media strategy.
Jez Paxman, strategy & creative director, Live Union
Jez helped found Live Union in 2009, based on a belief that the role and potential of events within the business and internal communications landscape was rapidly shifting.
An approach anchored in understanding where the true delegate value lies for a particular audience has seen Live Union build a client base that includes EDF Energy, Oracle, AXA, TripAdvisor, Nokia and Amnesty International.
A particular passion for Jez is the merging of live and digital channels to redefine what an event can be and what it can achieve for audiences.
Jez regularly participates in industry forums, blogs on all things live and contributes to the Narrative Environments MA course at Central Saint Martins.
Katy started her career in London after four years of studying Hospitality Management at Manchester University. She quickly became the Event Manager for Searcy’s at the Royal Opera House which saw her organise many high profile and glamorous events including the BAFTA awards for over 1000 celebrities, Condé Nast flagship GQ Man of the Year Awards and Chelsea Football Club’s Centenary Dinner.
Wanting to develop her skills further, a move into outside event catering led to experiencing a career defining moment…Lewis Hamilton arriving by helicopter to Exxon Mobile’s Silverstone Grand Prix party for 650 with oysters and amazing cocktails.
Katy’s career path then entered the world of contract catering where she joined boutique and sustainable catering company Harbour and Jones as a General Manager in 2010 working at 76 Portland Place before taking a short career break to travel. She re-joined Harbour and jones in January this year firstly working on projects and then becoming the General Manager at the Royal Society of Arts.
Katy is happiest when she is putting together creative quotes for clients, organising events and sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for food.
Sam founded Chinwag in 1996 to support the nascent digital marketing industry. The organisation has grown alongside the industry, whilst Sam has held positions as arguably the UK’s first paid webmaster for Time Out magazine, part of the founding management team of the UK’s first web agency, Webmedia and the start-up team at digital off-shoot of TV firm Carlton (now part of ITV).
He’s launched numerous events including Chinwag Psych, international startup series Digital Mission and he’s the Executive Director of Social Media Week London, part of a global collaborative event series taking place in 26 cities wordlwide. Sam is a member of the global advisory board. Consultancy clients include UK Trade & Investment, Open Data Institute, the BBC, the Technology Strategy Board and he’s an active participant in a number of start-up accelerators.
Stephen has 25 years’ experience in business, founding, financing and operating a number of companies, including IP-Config.com, a business performance consultancy specialising in innovation and growth. Stephen is also chairman of 8 Northumberland Avenue, HarvestDigital and Visual Voice. He believes that innovation is an evolutionary process for survival, differentiation and sustained business growth. An essential component of every business, the skill is running innovation effectively and making it a core cultural component of the organisation.
Jonathan Byrne, chief operating officer, Royal Aeronautical Society at No.4 Hamilton Place
Jonathan Byrne has a wealth of experience in the Events and Hospitality industry, culminating in his current role as Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Aeronautical Society where he is responsible for the operational functions of the learned society, including marketing its Park Lane, Mayfair, headquarters No. 4 Hamilton Place as a meeting and events venue.
Jonathan joined the Society from Westminster’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre where, as Commercial Director, he oversaw the planning for the Chilcot Enquiry. He worked previously with Mint Hotels in the group-wide role of General Manager – Meetings & Events, developing the hotel group’s meetings and events product. For the seven years prior to this, Jonathan was Group Sales & Marketing Director, responsible for driving the brand and leading the sales and marketing functions at a strategic level across the nine businesses of the Crown Group.
To register for FREE, and for more information about the timings and full programme for the showcase and panel discussion, click here.
Venue Collection
Hire prestigious, unique and unusual London venues and facilities with Westminster Venue Collection.
The Westminster Venue Collection’s venues range from fashionable townhouses and private members’ clubs, to luxury hotels, celebrated attractions, historic institutes and societies.
As the world sharpens its focus on climate change and what we can do to slow it down, the event industry – along with a whole host of other businesses – is raising its game….
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